Adelaide "comfort woman" seeks Japan apology

Published: 26 February 2007

An Adelaide Catholic grandmother, Jan Ruff-O'Herne, who was forced to
become a sex slave for Japanese soldiers during World War II, has
addressed the US Congress in a new bid to obtain a formal apology from
the Japanese government for war atrocities.

The Southern Cross
reports that Ms Ruff-O'Herne flew to Washington DC at short notice on
12 February at the invitation of speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi.

Two
days later, the grandmother and Kingswood parishioner was delivering a
short address to Congress on the plight of "jugun ianfu" or "comfort
women", military sex slaves forced to work in brothels on the Pacific
battle front during the conflict.

Korean comfort women Lee
Yong-Soo and Kim Gun-Ja also testified before the Asia-Pacific
subcommittee in an unprecedented move for the victims of such crimes.

Pelosi
and Japanese-American congressman Mike Honda want to pass a new
resolution which will hold the Japanese government accountable and put
heavy diplomatic pressure on the country to officially say sorry.

Resolutions
on comfort women have been tabled before but have never been passed.
The latest, with the backing of Pelosi, is thought to have a far better
chance.

Mrs Ruff-O'Herne, who has championed the cause of comfort women since finally telling her story in 1992, told The Southern Cross the trip was the most important moment so far in what is a deeply personal campaign.

"Although
my health is not 100 per cent and I'm 84 years old now I feel this is
the most important thing for me to do and I have to do it," she said.

"This
will have more influence and impact on Japan than all the other things
that I've done and Japan might listen - I must see this one through.

"We
hope it will make a difference this time because of where it comes
from. It's very important that it comes from the US Congress.

"I'm just hoping God will be with me."

In
early 1944, Mrs Ruff-O'Herne, then a 21-year-old of Dutch heritage
living in Indonesia, was captured and for months was raped and abused
countless times by Japanese troops.

But after the war, the horrific nature of her ordeal forced her into a silence she kept for half a century.

Inspired
by the courageous struggle for compensation and an apology by three
Korean comfort women, Mrs Ruff-O'Herne finally spoke of her experiences
at an international hearing on war crimes in Tokyo.

In 2002 Mrs
Ruff-O'Herne became the first Australian to receive the second-highest
honour from the Pope, the Dame Commander of the Order of St Sylvester.

She was recognised for her advocacy for women imprisoned and abused in war, and her Christian virtue and faith.